Winter tyre test 205/55 R16 - AutoMotorSport 2018
205/55 R16 - 2018
Winner
Continental
Tested tyres
11
Agenda:
Best value in test
Better than average value
Worse than average value
Worst value in test
Points total9,1
Good handling in snow, perfect ESP compatibility, excellent wet performance, alive but safe on dry,
too much choppy responses on snow, still has reserves
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#1/11
Wet Braking#1/11
Wet Circle Cornering#1/11
Wet Handling#1/11
Wet Handling Measured#1/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#4/11
Dry
Dry Braking#1/11
Dry Handling#2/11
Dry Handling Measured#3/11
Dry Steering Reaction#4/11
Dry Lane Change#8/11
Comfort
Ride Comfort#1/11
Noise Exterior#4/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#3/11
Snow
Snow Traction#1/11
Snow Circle Cornering#3/11
Snow Braking#4/11
Snow Handling Measured#4/11
Snow Handling#5/11
Points total8,2
Exact and easy control on wet and dry, good traction on snow (but worse in turns)
weak handling on snow, mismatch between riding straight and in the bends, lack of lateral guidance on dry surface
Wet
Wet Circle Cornering#1/11
Wet Handling Measured#1/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#2/11
Wet Braking#2/11
Wet Handling#2/11
Aquaplaning Cross#3/11
Dry
Dry Lane Change#1/11
Dry Steering Reaction#4/11
Dry Braking#5/11
Dry Handling#5/11
Dry Handling Measured#7/11
Comfort
Ride Comfort#1/11
Noise Exterior#4/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#6/11
Snow
Snow Traction#1/11
Snow Braking#4/11
Snow Handling#7/11
Snow Handling Measured#7/11
Snow Circle Cornering#10/11
Points total8,1
great on snow - accurate, easy to use and reliable, acceptable on dry, minimal rolling resistance
Wet deficiencies, especially when braking, slightly unpredictable
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#5/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#6/11
Wet Circle Cornering#6/11
Wet Handling#6/11
Wet Braking#7/11
Wet Handling Measured#8/11
Dry
Dry Braking#2/11
Dry Lane Change#2/11
Dry Handling#5/11
Dry Handling Measured#7/11
Dry Steering Reaction#7/11
Comfort
Noise Exterior#4/11
Ride Comfort#11/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#1/11
Snow
Snow Braking#1/11
Snow Handling#1/11
Snow Handling Measured#1/11
Snow Traction#1/11
Snow Circle Cornering#3/11
Points total8,0
very reliable, accurate and powerful on snow, safe and easy to use on wet, predictable understeer
longer braking paths on dry asphalt, increased rolling resistance
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#1/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/11
Wet Handling#2/11
Wet Handling Measured#3/11
Wet Braking#4/11
Wet Circle Cornering#6/11
Dry
Dry Steering Reaction#1/11
Dry Handling Measured#3/11
Dry Braking#5/11
Dry Handling#5/11
Dry Lane Change#9/11
Comfort
Noise Exterior#4/11
Ride Comfort#5/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#8/11
Snow
Snow Handling Measured#1/11
Snow Traction#1/11
Snow Handling#2/11
Snow Braking#4/11
Snow Circle Cornering#6/11
Points total7,9
safe and balanced on snow and wet, comfortable
worse dry handling, higher rolling resistance
Wet
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#2/11
Wet Handling#2/11
Aquaplaning Cross#3/11
Wet Handling Measured#3/11
Wet Braking#4/11
Wet Circle Cornering#6/11
Dry
Dry Lane Change#2/11
Dry Braking#5/11
Dry Steering Reaction#7/11
Dry Handling#8/11
Dry Handling Measured#10/11
Comfort
Noise Exterior#1/11
Ride Comfort#9/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#8/11
Snow
Snow Circle Cornering#1/11
Snow Traction#1/11
Snow Handling#2/11
Snow Braking#4/11
Snow Handling Measured#4/11
Points total7,8
very neutral adaptive tire, dry steering is natural and safe when changing lanes, more or less safe
Poor traction, understeer in the snow, weak aquaplaning in turns
Wet
Wet Braking#2/11
Wet Circle Cornering#3/11
Wet Handling Measured#3/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#4/11
Wet Handling#5/11
Aquaplaning Cross#7/11
Dry
Dry Handling Measured#1/11
Dry Handling#2/11
Dry Lane Change#2/11
Dry Steering Reaction#4/11
Dry Braking#5/11
Comfort
Noise Exterior#1/11
Ride Comfort#5/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#3/11
Snow
Snow Braking#10/11
Snow Handling#10/11
Snow Handling Measured#10/11
Snow Circle Cornering#11/11
Snow Traction#11/11
Points total7,8
good traction, well balanced on snow (except braking), still acceptable wet performance, above average on dry
weak wet braking
Wet
Wet Circle Cornering#4/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#6/11
Wet Handling#6/11
Wet Handling Measured#6/11
Aquaplaning Cross#7/11
Wet Braking#7/11
Dry
Dry Steering Reaction#1/11
Dry Braking#2/11
Dry Handling#2/11
Dry Lane Change#2/11
Dry Handling Measured#3/11
Comfort
Ride Comfort#5/11
Noise Exterior#11/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#3/11
Snow
Snow Traction#1/11
Snow Circle Cornering#3/11
Snow Braking#4/11
Snow Handling#5/11
Snow Handling Measured#7/11
Points total7,3
good braking on wet, satisfactory snow performance
unbalanced wet handling, poor aquaplaning resistance, unbalanced dry performance, high rolling resistance
Wet
Wet Braking#4/11
Wet Circle Cornering#4/11
Wet Handling Measured#6/11
Wet Handling#8/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#9/11
Aquaplaning Cross#10/11
Dry
Dry Handling Measured#3/11
Dry Braking#5/11
Dry Steering Reaction#7/11
Dry Handling#8/11
Dry Lane Change#9/11
Comfort
Noise Exterior#4/11
Ride Comfort#5/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#10/11
Snow
Snow Braking#4/11
Snow Circle Cornering#6/11
Snow Handling#7/11
Snow Handling Measured#7/11
Snow Traction#8/11
Points total7,2
Best in the snow from the whole test
poor aquaplaning resistance, low grip and wet direction change responses, low steering accuracy, poor response and dry performance
Wet
Wet Braking#7/11
Wet Handling Measured#8/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#9/11
Wet Handling#9/11
Aquaplaning Cross#10/11
Wet Circle Cornering#10/11
Dry
Dry Handling Measured#7/11
Dry Steering Reaction#7/11
Dry Braking#10/11
Dry Handling#10/11
Dry Lane Change#11/11
Comfort
Ride Comfort#1/11
Noise Exterior#9/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#6/11
Snow
Snow Braking#1/11
Snow Circle Cornering#1/11
Snow Handling Measured#1/11
Snow Traction#1/11
Snow Handling#2/11
Points total7,2
Dry, precise and well-handling, well-adapted to car handling
worse on snow, long wet braking track, poor reactions to load changes in wet turns
Wet
Wet Circle Cornering#6/11
Aquaplaning Cross#7/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#9/11
Wet Handling#9/11
Wet Braking#10/11
Wet Handling Measured#10/11
Dry
Dry Handling#1/11
Dry Steering Reaction#1/11
Dry Braking#2/11
Dry Handling Measured#2/11
Dry Lane Change#2/11
Comfort
Noise Exterior#9/11
Ride Comfort#9/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#2/11
Snow
Snow Circle Cornering#8/11
Snow Traction#8/11
Snow Braking#10/11
Snow Handling#10/11
Snow Handling Measured#10/11
Points total6,4
Even with the disadvantages still usable
unbalanced snow performance, mismatch between straights and bends, wet and dry weak, high rolling resistance
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#5/11
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#6/11
Wet Handling#9/11
Wet Handling Measured#10/11
Wet Braking#11/11
Wet Circle Cornering#11/11
Dry
Dry Lane Change#2/11
Dry Braking#10/11
Dry Handling#10/11
Dry Handling Measured#10/11
Dry Steering Reaction#11/11
Comfort
Noise Exterior#1/11
Ride Comfort#1/11
Economy
Rolling Resistance#11/11
Snow
Snow Braking#3/11
Snow Handling Measured#4/11
Snow Handling#7/11
Snow Circle Cornering#8/11
Snow Traction#8/11
Above you can see the results of the AutoMotorSport 2018 205/55 R16 test performed by AutoMotorSport on a in 2018. This test was performed in 205/55 R16, but is applicable to other similar sizes, especially in the same tyre width (205). Continental WinterContact TS 860 is the best of 11 tested tyres according to tested properties (Points total, Rating, Positive features, Neagative features, ). Other featured tyres include Goodyear UltraGrip 9, Nokian WR D4, Hankook Winter i*cept RS2 W452; Some tyres weren't included in the test, such as Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1, Dunlop Winter Sport 5, Michelin ALPIN 6.
Same size tyres not featured in the test
Tests usually don't cover the whole market - here is our selection what not to miss when shopping for tyres in this size.
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